What the New York Mets should do at the winter meetings

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has had a pretty busy offseason so far. Terry Collins resigned as Mets manager after the 2017 season and Alderson had to start looking for a new manager immediately. Alderson went outside the box and hired Cleveland Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway to be the Mets' new manager.

Callaway fixed the Indians' pitching staff when he became their pitching coach, starting in 2013. Cleveland had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball because of him. Alderson will be hoping he can have the same influence on pitchers like Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Chris Flexen, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler.

Speaking of Matt Harvey, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Mets traded him for the right price. I think he needs to play under Callaway though.

Other than maybe considering a trade for Harvey, what other moves should the Mets make? There are rumors that the Cleveland Indians are trying to shop Jason Kipnis. Kipnis knows Callaway well and I am sure it would be a good fit. The Mets need an everyday starting second baseman.

Kipnis's batting average was .232 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs, along with six stolen bases last season with the Cleveland Indians. He is also a very good fielder and a good runner.

The next move the Mets should make is to sign Mike Moustakas. He plays third base and is only 29 years old. Moustakas was a big part of the 2015 Kansas City Royals World Series run. His batting average was .272 with 38 home runs and 85 RBIs last season with the Royals. This move would make sense because David Wright can never stay healthy and can't be relied upon.

Lorenzo Cain is a free agent and the Mets are showing interest in him. He was a member of the 2015 Kansas City Royals championship team. Cain is a center field and the Mets could use him considering that Yoenis Cespedes is more comfortable playing in left field. Michael Conforto can move over to right field and make either Juan Lagares or Brandon Nimmo the fourth outfielder.

Cain's batting average last season was .300 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs, along with 26 strikeouts. Cain could be the leadoff hitter and Amed Rosario could be the second batter. They both have speed and the Mets could steal a lot of bases and play a ton of small ball with the two in the team.

The Mets have also shown interest in 23-year-old Shohei Otani. An outfielder and pitcher, New York are going to have to pay him at least $20 million a season to get him. His batting average was .332 with 8 home runs and 31 RBIs in 65 games last season with Hokkadio Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League.

His record as a pitcher was 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA. In 25.1 innings pitched, Otani walked 19 batters and struck out 29.

The Mets may want to address the bullpen issues as well. Injuries plagued the Mets big time in 2017 and they couldn't handle high expectations either. If they could indeed sign the players mentioned above, they would be in very good shape heading into 2018.